According to official data, the number of ' cloned' taxi cars involved in illegal activities reported on British roads has reached a record high, according to a report by The Guardian in October 16th.
Last year, more than 14,100 drivers contacted the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) after receiving fines that they claimed they did not know about and were not responsible for. It is believed that most of these cases stemmed from 'cloning' activities, where their license plates were illegally copied onto other vehicles in order to evade law enforcement cameras.
According to analysis by the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain (RAC) of the data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the number of complaints related to this issue is 9% higher than in 2024, almost double the figure recorded in 2018.
The increasing number of illegal license plates highlights the growing concerns about their use: these plates allow criminals to evade detection and also prevent dangerous drivers from being caught.
Although drivers should provide vehicle registration certificates and identification documents to suppliers when purchasing license plates, a survey last year found that more than 130 official suppliers in the UK were willing to sell ‘cloned license plates’ to help drivers evade police and congestion fees.
After vehicles are cloned, many innocent car owners have to struggle to prove that they should not be held responsible when their vehicles are caught on law enforcement cameras breaking the law.
Another concern is that some people use license plates that are designed to be unreadable by British Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. These 1.8 thousand cameras are used for safety measures such as speed limits or intelligent lane closures on highways.
RAC suggests that the UK needs to completely reform its outdated and poorly regulated license plate system. Its policy officer, Simon Williams, said, "If license plate suppliers had conducted all the necessary checks, it would be much harder for illegal drivers to purchase cloned license plates. Currently, car owners often don’t realize that their license plates are being used illegally until the fine is sent to the vehicle registration holder’s home address."
He said that more work needs to be done to catch drivers who use such license plates. “Whether it’s providing handheld devices for police to use, updating ANPR cameras, or introducing higher safety standards for license plates and their manufacturers.”
The British government said last month that it will launch a new nationwide campaign to combat illegal license plates. The Department for Transport will provide funding for a new road policing team. A new national road policing coordination center will share information and trial new technologies, such as special glasses, to detect license plates that are designed in a way that cannot be read by cameras. Drivers who use or display non-compliant license plates may be fined up to 1000 pounds.
A spokesman for the UK Transport Department said: 'We are investing heavily in new road policing teams and innovative technologies to combat illegal license plates, with the aim of eliminating the scourge of cloned license plates.'
